Today is Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week. This year Holy Week is taking on cinematic importance for Jeanne and me. We are avid fans of “The Chosen,” a multi-year treatment of the life of Jesus. Season Five is currently in theaters in three parts, each part containing two or three hour-long episodes. The season begins with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and ends with his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. We saw part three yesterday–we might... Read more
In my American Philosophy class, a class that I am enjoying greatly because I have not had the privilege of teaching it in eight years, we are spending the last few classes of the semester with the work of Richard Rorty, one of the most important American philosophers of the late 20th and early 21st century. Our introduction to Rorty was his autobiographical essay “Trotsky and the Wild Orchids” in which he tracks the evolution of his thought and philosophical commitments... Read more
I am always encouraged when I find that various topics and issues that I obsess about are obsessions for others as well. As anyone who reads this blog frequently or even occasionally knows, for instance, I am obsessed with the dangers of certainty. As I regularly argue for the virtues of doubt, I am often accused of being a relativist (which in the world of truth-seeking is close to being accused of being a socialist in politics) and a denier... Read more
In The Name I often describe myself as “poetry challenged.” I usually need someone else to help me get all of the nuances of poetry–although I find beauty there, it is definitely not my natural genre. But every once in a while I hear a poem that simply blows me away, This one is from Irish poet Pádraig Ó Tuama, who was a recent guest on Kate Bowler’s podcast “Everything Happens” (which has been showing up here frequently over the... Read more
A couple of days ago, Kate Bowler interviewed Jeff Chu on her podcast “Everything Happens.” Jeff Chu is a journalist, an author, a pastor, and one of the most interesting people in the progressive persons of faith atmosphere. Along with Sarah Bessey and the late Rachel Held Evans, he is one of the founders of “Evolving Faith,” a movment that fashions itself as a home for persons of faith who are deconstructing a faith that has turned out over time... Read more
IT’S APRIL FOOLS DAY–A PERFECT TIME FOR SOME IRREVERENCE! One of my continuing reading delights is anything written by Anne Lamott. In her struggles with faith, she is equally intense in both her relentless pursuit of the transcendent and her irreverence. In Bird by Bird, she writes that “the mind frequently has its head up its own ass—seeing things in such a narrow and darkly narcissistic way that it presents a colorectal theology, offering hope to no one.” The phrase truly... Read more
Be a Person Masterpiece Theater recently began a several week production of The Mirror and the Light, the final entry in a trilogy of novels by Hilary Mantel about Thomas Cromwell, the consigliere and fixer for Henry VIII. Cromwell is the son of a blacksmith, a violent and abusive father whom Cromwell flees as a young teenager. Over many years as a soldier, a merchant, and ultimately a self-made lawyer, Cromwell begins to make his presence known at court through... Read more
After a week off from classes for spring break, I jumped back into the problem of evil with one of my ethics classes bright and early the first day back. We conidered one possible way to address the problem of evil. The problem of evil arises when one assumes the omnipotence, omniscience, and omnibenevolence of God while also observing the evil and suffering that is rampant in our world. Traditional approaches start with the assumptions about God then seek to... Read more
Die Before You Die Yesterday afternoon I participated in a “Post-Sabbatical Presentation” event on campus along with colleagues from the mathematics, history, English, and theology departments. One of the duties of faculty returning from a sabbatical semester or year is to provide a brief (10-15 minute) overview of what they accomplished on sabbatical. It’s sort of the academic version of the grade school “What I did on summer vacation” event. My main accomplishment while on sabbatical during the Fall 2023... Read more
Considering the Problem of Goodness During the early years of my career, I developed the habit of teaching at least one overload course per semester in my college’s evening program. The immediate reason for taking on the extra course was entirely mercenary—new professors don’t make a lot and we needed the money. Teaching in the evening school provides unique challenges. The typical evening course has an eclectic group of students, ranging from day students who either are trying to earn... Read more
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